Of Rubber Ducks and Soap
by Isabella Auditore
Summary: "Wheatley?" Chell's voice came out as a whisper. The tall man froze, water dripping from his red hair and off-white shirt. "How did you..?" He gazed at Chell with those unnaturally blue eyes, his square-edged glasses askew. The silence lasted for about a minute. "Wait, you can talk!" Contains human!Wheatley and lots of Chelley! Rated T for possible language and I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

(Feel free to skip this!)  
**Hey! I've been lazy around the FanFiction site, so sorry about that! I just kind of lost interest in writing about things I knew all about. So, I thought I'd write about something that could go anywhere, and I don't fully understand the beginning to!  
And thus, I shall write a Portal 2 FanFic. I know the game, and have seen all of it played out, but there will be holes. Please, if there is something wrong that doesn't add up in the storyline, go ahead and tell me. After all, I'm only human. :)**

* * *

Chell's POV:

_The moon was visible through a hole in the ceiling. Water showering down spattered on my cheeks as my heart-rate slowed to a constant thud. It was all I could hear. All at once I knew what I had to do. Swallowing dryly, I twisted to pick up the Portal Gun. Without pausing for thought, I took aim and fired.  
Bits of panelling, cubes and debris was sucked into the orange portal underneath the corrupt Wheatley. I began sliding along the floor, gaining speed the closer I got to the portal. As I too was sucked through, I grabbed hold of Wheatley's handles.  
"Agghh! Let go! I'm still connected, I can pull myself through! I can fix this!" His voice stung me. It seemed as though _my _Wheatley had really gone. Out of nowhere, a giant metalic claw reached through the portal. "I've already fixed it... and you're NOT coming back!"  
"Ah. Change of plan. Hold on to me! Tighter!" Wheatley cried. Just then, the claw snatched at me, knocking the blue-eyed core out of my hands. "Grab me, grab me, grab me, grab meeeee!" His voice trailed off as he was sucked further into space.  
_'Nooo!' _I wanted to scream._

And I did. The scream lasted until I noticed my familiar surroundings. The glass-topped wooden bedside table sat at my right, looking nothing like the table in... Aperture. The bedsheets, though sweaty and tangled around me, were the ones I'd bought at the mall. Panting, I stared around my room. The transparant curtains stirred as a gentle breeze wafted through the open door. Calming a little, I untangled myself from the sheets and padded to the door. The pale blue sleep-shirt clung to me a little too tightly for my liking, but at least I was alone out here.

Moonlight sparkled on the dark lake just meters from the balcony-deck outside. It glittered with every gentle wavelet. I paused at the doorframe, and glanced up at that big, pale rock. Somewhere, out there, the little blue core was floating around, probably for all of eternity. Part of me loathed him for, well, trying to kill me, but the other part wished he was here, wished I could talk to him as a friend one more time. I missed his pointless ramblings, his accent, his usually optimistic mindset. Even thinking about the football-shaped robot made my heart ache with lonliness.  
All at once, I forgave him, hated him, missed him, despised him, and wanted to find him. I was completely confused.

When I finally glanced at my watch, it had just gone five past four. In an hour or so, the sun would rise spectacularly, and I would lose sight of the stars. That almost felt like loosing Wheatley again, so I turned away and padded back to bed, much calmer, but also much sadder than before.

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

"Spaaaaaaaaaaace!"  
"Yes, I get it, mate. We're in SPACE. Now would you _please _shut up?" That annoying core was driving me mental! Whizzing about, always talking about space.  
"I'm in space." The yellow optic of the 'Space-Core' glowed excitedly as it spoke in a rush.  
Sighing in annoyance, I tried to drown out his pointless ramblings by delving back into my thoughts. I decided to picture how I would apologise to her again. I had this whole brilliant scenario planned out where I showed up to rescue her from _Her _clutches, and I would say how genuinely and completely sorry I am about how I almost murdered her... many times. In my imagination, she would nod her forgiveness, and we'd be friends forever.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit it; the plan had holes. What if she had died, or already escaped? (I much preferred the former. Or was it the latter? Which was the last one of the two..?) How would I find her? What was her name? But most importantly, how the bloody hell was I going to get back to Earth? As the Space Core keeps _helpfully_ reminding me, we're in space. Orbitting the moon, to be exact.

From where I was floating, I gazed down on the big blue-and-white planet. The clouds swirled here and there, and I watched as the first few rays of sunlight warmed the Earth.

As I floated there, the other problem with my plan snuck up on me. I'd known it all along, just refused to acknowledge it. Couldn't. My sanity depended on it. Even though she has the right to if I ever see her again, because of what little old Wheatley, the moron, did.

_What if she doesn't forgive me?_

* * *

**Sorry for Chell's over-emotionalness, but I got carried away. For added fun, try re-reading Wheatley's POV in your mind with his voice. Human!Wheatley coming in Ch 2!**

**(For those who don't know, human!Wheatley means Wheatley will appear as a human. Just like zombie!Kathryn would mean I was a zombie. Just a heads up!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**First, let me thank you, StoryGirl.98, for my first review!  
And thanks to all who read/are reading and followed/are following my first Portal Fanfic! :)**

**Alrighty, as promised, this chapter will have human!Wheatley. Not sure what else I should say, other than enjoy!  
AH! A BIRD! BIRD! BIRD! BIRD! KILL IT, IT'S EVIL! DX**

* * *

Chell's POV:

I'd had nightmares like that one since I left that place well over a year ago. I wasn't totally over it, but at least I could talk again. It took six months in councelling (where I had to lie my cheeks off about why I was traumatized) to fix that.

That first day out of Aperture was like a living nightmare, stumbling around the countryside in the too-bright sunlight with a weighted Companion Cube and a bad headache, unable to speak to anyone, completely lost. I wandered for days before discovering quite a large sum of money inside the Cube.  
There was also a picture of a cake, courtesy of GLaDOS.  
With the money, I built my flat by the lake and later paid for the area around it so no one else could set up home nearby. I realised I was a little lonely, though, and the people in the town seemed nice, so although I probably could've survived without working, I got a job at the local cafe, The Coffee Mill, where I switched between waitress and coffee-maker. I still don't speak much, only when necessary, but my co-workers don't seem to mind. Sometimes a smile and a wave is just as good as 'hello', plus not everyone is as chatty as a bird.

I thought some more about the year leading up to today as I poured some cereal into a bowl. As I passed the fridge, I took out the milk and orange juice. Balancing all of these items in my arms, I made my way onto the deck, and slid into my usual breakfast seat. It looked over the lake, and if there wasn't any mist, it had the best view of the town in the distance over the water and trees on the far side.  
Today, it was a little misty though, so the view was obstructed.

I was munching on my cereal, only halfway through, when out of nowhere a voice screamed. Not a short note, or high-pitched, as you would expect, but a long stream of 'A's in a male's voice, aparently falling. The voice got closer and closer, until...

_SPLASH!_

"Help, help! Oh, help, I'm going to short circuit! Oh, please help! Someone!" Leaping to my feet, I frantically scanned the lake to see where the voice was coming from. In my moment of panic, I somehow disregarded the strangeness of what the voice just said.  
I spotted a tuft of ginger hair amidst flailing limbs near enough to the shore. How the person was staying afloat was a mystery to me, seeing as how he (I guessed it was a man, judging from the voice and size of the person) was literally waving his arms and legs like a madman.  
He wouldn't stay above the waterline acting like that, so without a second's hesitaion, I raced to the shore and threw my shoes onto the pebbly beach, before diving into the shallows. Stones and sharp rocks scratched at my feet as I kicked away, but I ignored them, knowing the man was going to exhaust himself if he kept doing what he was doing.  
When I reached the man, the first thing I noticed was how tall he was. He was probably about a foot taller than me! The second thing I noticed was his unnaturally blue eyes. They seemed to almost glow behind thick, square-rimmed glasses. The third thing I noticed was those eyes were now fixed on my face, a strange look flashing behind them as his eyebrows furrowed.  
"Hold on to me." I grunted, deciding to disregard the look as something trivial. The man made a choking noise that somewhat resembled a laugh, then wrapped his long arms around my neck.  
_Really? _I thought, _You're gonna let a complete stranger hang on there? For all you know, he's a murderer, trying to act innocent! _  
Something about that thought unnerved me, but as I swam to shore, practically carrying the man back, something else told me I was safe.  
"Just like old times, 'ey luv?" The man's british accent was clear now, but something wasn't right. I didn't know this man, but he seemed familiar. I was _sure _I'd never seen his face before, you'd remember someone as tall as him. You'd remember such bright eyes.  
I gave him a questioning look, and he looked back at me, completely puzzled.  
"Ohh, right. I see." He spoke as though those four words explained it all, then fell silent. I didn't know whether I was relieved or disappointed about that. I carried on swimming, the shore getting nearer.

Panting, I slumped down on the deck, watching the man cough then shake himself like a dog. He stood at his full height, and I noted that he was indeed about a foot taller than me. His clothing, now soaked through, was a little tattered. He wore an off-white shirt and black trousers, the shirt half tucked in. The bright blue tie around his collar was as loose as a schoolboy's. The thick-rimmed rectangle glasses were slightly askew  
"D'you know, that was lucky I didn't short cir-" He stopped after a sidelong glance at me. He coughed, then went on. "Uh.. Lucky I didn't _drown. _Yeah, that's it." He gave me a big, cheesy grin. He turned away, then muttered, preseumably to himself, "Need to get used to that."  
I sighed tiredly. He was obviously hiding something.  
"Come on, let's get you inside and dried off before you catch a cold." The look of horror on his face made me rise to my feet.  
"Catch a cold..? Like, like an illness or a disease?" His eyes wide with fear as he stared at his hands, he cried, "I don't want to die! I thought the danger ended when you left the water? Humans are so fragile!"  
"Shhh! Calm. Down. It's okay. It'll be fine. We just need to dry you off. Do you want some tea, or coffee?" I spoke quietly, hoping to calm the frantic man. Also, did he just say 'humans' as though he wasn't one? No, no. I probably misheard.  
"What? Oh, yeah. Yes please?" His voice lowered with every word, but there was no mistaking the fear in those eyes.  
"Which do you want?" I was quickly losing patience with the man, but at the same time, I couldn't help but bite back a smile.  
"Oh, right. Um... hmmm. Um.. tea, no, coffee, no, tea, um, please?"  
That voice... I knew it. I was positive. Gazing into his blue eyes, I thought and thought.  
Then it hit me.  
I took a step back.

"Wh-Wheatley?" My voice came out as a whisper. The man froze. I stared into his eyes, searching. Finally, he relaxed.  
"Gonna find out anyway." He said to himself, looking down at his feet. "What gave it-" He stopped, blinked, then looked up. A frown crinkled his forehead. "You can talk?!"  
He only noticed that now? I let out a wary laugh. I wasn't sure what to do. Part of me wanted to push him back in the water and run, run as far away as I could, to get away from this piece of heartless Aperture tech. The other half wanted to rush forward and hug him.  
So guess what I did?  
Neither.  
"Hi." I sat back down on the deck suddenly, thoughts and feelings swimming about, making me dizzy. I wasn't looking at Wheatley when he started talking again.  
"Phew, here goes..." He seemed to shake himself, then went on. "I, um, I want to say... that, well, you know, I wanted to say... I'm really s-sorry. I'm sorry I was bossy..." He trailed off, but soon began again after the look I shot at him. "...And monstrous. I'm really, genuinely sorry. I really am. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but..." He stopped again, looking at his feet.

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

She was being very quiet. Then again, I was used to that, at least. It was strange watching her with two optics, and being human. I was still getting used to how to work my body.  
Finally, what felt like a long time, but I know for a fact it was probably only twenty minutes, (I highly doubt it was as long as it felt like, I would have grown old. Ooh, ageing. Another strange thing about being human!) she looked up at me. There was an excess of water in her eyes as she spoke.  
"Oh, Wheatley. I-" She stopped, and to my annoyance my stupid human heart seemed to get louder and fill my ears. "I forgive you." I sighed in relief. A strange feeling, wasting oxygen like that.  
Without warning, she stood up, walked over to me, hugged me tightly, then introduced herself.  
"My name's Chell, I had a feeling you didn't know. Oh, and by the way, 'Apple'." Slightly baffled, but cheered up all the same, we went inside for that tea.

Funny word, tea. It's like the letter 'T', but with an 'E' and an 'A'. It can mean the hot beverage, or the meal after lunch, y'know? Tea. Heh. Teeeea. Another easy word. Maybe easier than apple. Though, I still prefer apple. 'Ap-ple'. I found out they're quite tasty, too! Mind you, I do like towels. All fluffy and warm. Strange, describing something as fluffy or warm. I never knew what either really signified. Towel is a funny word, too. It has 'Tow', as in a tow-truck (whatever that is) and 'Ow', one of the first words I said as a human. Being human is great, there's so many new sensations and feelings! I could go on for hours.

* * *

**Did you like Wheatley's little ending ramble? I know I did. It was fun to write. Also, it obviously wasn't twenty minutes since he apologised, he just thinks it was because he 'knows' it wasn't an eternity.  
Hopefully, I'll get the next chapter up soon. If you're lucky, maybe even today! Promise I'll update as quickly as possible!  
Oh, and the title will be explained in time. (Not in chapter four, more like chapter nine.)**

**"Funny word, time..."  
"Wheatley."  
"Right, right! I get it. I'll shut up. Could've been a little nicer about it-"**

**"OKAY!"**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's Chapter 3! Sorry, I know I'm not the best writer, but I'm trying.  
Enjoy! There's cake when you finish reading! :3**

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

"Oh. That's tea, is it?" I stared uncertainly at the golden-brown liquid in the mug. I tugged at the white towel wrapped around my upper body as Chell slid the cup towards me across the 'island' (for whatever reason it's called that, even though it's not surrounded by water). "Hmm." There appeared to be a kind of smoke rising out of it, but not as thick. Cautiously, I reached out with my (human!) hand to pick up the cup. Pausing, my eyes flicked towards Chell, who was clutching her own cup and watching in interest. Quickly noting how she held the cup, I wrapped my fingers around the bit that stuck out and looped 'round again. I gently lifted the tea to my lips, then, after another glance at Chell to see what she did, I opened my mouth and gulped down a huge mouthful.  
Big mistake.  
"AH! AH! IT BURNS! AAHHH!" The cup slipped from my fingers, then in slow motion, fell to the ground with a crash, hot tea splashing everywhere.  
Like my toes.  
"OW OW OW OW OW OW!" Now clutching at my foot, I hopped up and down on the non-tea-covered bit of tile. "Definitely not a good idea. Owww!"  
Chell, who had watched all this without speaking, finally rushed over to help.

* * *

"I've... decided... I DON'T... like tea." I panted a few minutes later, tongue and toes now numb. "Completely reasonable."  
Chell just sighed and smiled a little, the look of concern on her face melting away a little.  
"Well, at least you're okay, you don't have any serious burns. On the bright side, you shouldn't be cold anymore." The little smile grew.  
My face, red from embarassment at my stupidness, seemed to agree.  
"Now, I need to go buy you some more clothes, the ones you're wearing are soaked. Stay here, and..." Chell stood up and picked up some keys from a bowl near the door, having changed earlier while the tea 'brewed'. "Try not to break anything." Her voice almost pleaded.  
"No guarantees." I tried as hard as I could to make it sound like a joke, though it was probably true, knowing me as I do.  
Chell smiled, then left.

Two minutes later, I made my way over the big squishy thing that was like a chair but bigger. As I sat down, the silence stretched on.  
"So. Sooo. So... now what?" I spoke to myself, clasping my hands together. That was one of my favourite things to do as a human.  
"I know! I'll go exploring! It's a pretty big place, for a human's home." Rising to my feet, I walked forward towards the big blank black monitor sitting on the wall.  
"Hmm... what's this for, I wonder?" It looked like art, but rather bland. Nothing like the scenery at Aperture. A vague memory popped into my head of when I was in control of the facility and Chell was smashing my screens. I'd asked if she'd like it if I came over to her house and smashed her TV screen. That made me laugh a little as I looked at the glass. I prodded at it for a few minutes, but soon realised nothing was happening. "Huh... that was pointless." A strange feeling began building up inside me, a hint of loneliness tinged at the edges. It... made me all at once want to explore, and flop back onto the squishy chair. Was this... boredom? Hah! I was feeling bored! This was probably the best day ever! Chell forgiving me, now this?  
Oh... the boredom was gone. Hmm.  
Oh, back again.  
Hahah.  
Heh.

"Bored." I stated, then slouched back to the chair-thing, and stared at the ceiling.

* * *

Chell's POV:

Exhausted, I packed the clothes bags onto the passenger seat, (and under it) and began to drive home.  
I sincerely hoped nothing was broken, but mostly I wished Wheatley was okay. There was no telling what could've happened in my absence. Thank God I lived in a flat, without stairs. I shuddered, thinking about how I would've felt to come home and find Wheatley in a bundle at the base of some stairs...  
Nope. He was okay. What could've happened?  
Optimistic thinking was never my strong-suit.  
_He could've tripped on the beach and landed in the water again, he could've fallen in the bathroom and hit his head_-  
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel. (One of the few things I'd managed to learn in a short space of time- driving.)  
Wheatley was _fine. _He was not a child. He could look after himself.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, I wanted to race inside to make sure he was okay. Instead, I slowly hauled the shopping bags out of the car, then locked it. I made my way cautiously to the front door, trying not to rush. When I reached the door, I heard a faint mumbling, almost like chanting, inside.  
_What?  
_I fumbled with the keys, finally giving up on not panicking. The door swung open, and I practically fell over the boundary. There, lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling, was Wheatley. He was aparently chanting 'bored' while I was gone, but stopped after I stumbled.  
"Hey, Chell! You'll never guess! I was positively bored!" The cheeriness in his voice threw me off; was that very well-veiled sarcasm, **(**Try saying THAT ten times fast!**)** or was he actually glad he was bored? He seemed to take my silence as a good thing. "I know, right?" The grin splitting his face was infectious.  
"Glad you were okay." Maybe he did fall while I was gone..?

* * *

"How do I look?" Wheatley stepped out into the hallway, looking very smart in a white shirt and black waistcoat. The bright blue tie matched his eyes uncannily, as did the blue converse under the black trousers. Overall, a little dressy, but hey. He looked...  
"Amazing!" I all but cried, then cleared my throat. "Brilliant. It seems... my sense of style is better than I gave myself credit for." I suddenly had the feeling that the cheesy grin was going to be an every day thing. I also had the feeling I wouldn't mind at all. It was infectious.

* * *

**Hooray! Dress-up Wheatley!  
Also, SPAAAAAACE! All will be revealed in a few chapters, patience!  
If you get the reference when Wheatley was bored, do feel free to tell me, either via review or PM! I'll be so surprised if you can guess it! (If your name is Aisling, and you go to my school, do NOT answer this! ;D )  
Oops, cake slipped into the next chapter...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Back again for Chapter four! If you guessed the reference was from a TV show beginning with 'S' and ending in 'lock', with the missing letters 'H', 'E', and 'R', you were right! You win cake! Please read on to get said cake. ;)**

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

"What is that?" I pointed over at the yellow thing perched on the edge of the bathtub. It had a little shiny orange thing sticking out, and two painted eyes that stared into nothingness. It creeped me out.  
"That's a rubber duck, Wheatley." Chell explained calmly, her signature ponytail swaying lightly as she spoke.  
"So... not a real bird?"  
"No. Not a bird."  
I couldn't help but feel relieved.  
"Good... and what's that?"  
"That's soap. It's what you use to wash yourself with?"  
"Ah, right, right. Makes sense."  
Ignoring the skeptical look on Chell's face, I wandered over to the device attatched to the wall above the bath. The _shower, _Chell called it. After staring at it for several minutes, trying to figure out how to work it, her voice rang out behind me.  
"Do you want help?"  
"No, no, no, it... it looks simple enough. Should be able to figure it out. Yup. Easy peasy. Lemon..." I trailed off, still staring intentedly at the thing. I heard a tired, yet amused sigh from behind me, as Chell began to leave.  
"So you just stand under it, right?"  
"I thought you could figure it out?" The friendly mocking was quite obvious.  
"Yes, I can. Just... just testing you, luv."  
"Okay then." Chell was about to leave when I swung one leg over the side of the bath to get in. The sigh came again. "You've to take your clothes off before getting in, silly!"  
"Right, right. I know." I started to pull off the trousers, when Chell half-yelled;  
"Ah! Wai-wait until I leave!" Why was she so alarmed? Maybe it's some human-thing about taking off clothes when others were around... I better take note of that. So I waited until the door closed with a snap before undressing.

I stared at the plastic contraption on the wall, willing it to start. Maybe you have to press the button? Or do you have to turn the dial?  
Settling on the dial, I turned it all the way towards the blue line, whatever that meant. Nothing happened. Huh. Must be the button. Aha! Oh, right. It has 'Start' printed over it.  
Water started sprinkling from the shower head_, _but it was-  
"AH! AH! COLDCOLDCOLDCOLD!" I thought Chell said a 'nice hot shower'?

* * *

Chell's POV:

I barely held in the burst of laughter when I heard Wheatley's yelling. At least he got it working. Rising from the sofa where I was enjoying some mind-numbing reality show, I made my way to outside the bathroom.  
"TURN THE DIAL TOWARDS THE RED LINE, BUT NOT TOO FAR!" I called in.  
"RED LINE, GOT IT!" Came Wheatley's muffled reply.  
Knowing Wheatley as I did, I began counting down.  
"3... 2... 1..."  
"HOTHOTHOTHOT AAH!"  
"TURN IT TOWARDS THE BLUE, BUT KEEP IT ON THE RED LINE!" I called.  
"OKAY... Ahhhh..." The sigh informed me he had actually listened to me this time. Smirking a little, I hurried back to the sofa to catch the dramatic finale.

Fifteen minutes later, Wheatley emerged, his flaming red hair all over the place. He was wrapped oddly in the biggest towel he could find. It still only went halfway down his thighs. I cleared my throat loudly, and turned back to the blank TV to hide my embarassed blush.  
"Wheatley, go into my room. You'll find some pyjamas on the bed. Go put them on." I said without turning around again.  
"Pyjamas... right... right. Um..."  
"Clothes you wear in bed."  
"People wear different clothes in bed? Why?"  
"Because... actually, I have no idea. Just _please _go put them on." Again, I didn't turn around. My voice was borderline begging.  
For once, Wheatley was quiet as he walked away.

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

Chell's behavior was confusing. I couldn't understand her, yet somehow, I felt I knew everything about her. Which I didn't. I knew absolutely nothing about this woman. Only her name. And that she could jump. And solve puzzles. And tolerate my... um... _interesting _personality.  
As I padded along the hallway to her room, I pondered how much I really knew about her.  
Well, I know she's adopted. Don't know how I ever saw her as fat, though. There's no way she was fat. Definitely not.  
Pausing that train of thought, (it made me feel... an odd feeling, which I couldn't put into words...) I turned my mind elsewhere, and ended up remembering back to when I tried insulting her about being fat and adopted.  
Thinking like that just reminded me of my time as Evil Wheatly, and a wave of shame almost bowled me over. Although Chell had forgiven me, I still felt horribly guilty. I still felt like I ought to be begging for her forgiveness, not taking it for granted. I still owed her, and that bugged me. I was _Wheatley, _no one ever did anything nice enough for me to owe them. I suppose I'd have to prove myself eventually, but how? It's not like I'm heroic, or brave, or, hell, I can't even make pie, which is apparently really easy, according to the saying.

The pyjamas were simple, just tracksuit bottoms and a large black hoodie. The hoodie was instructing me to keep calm (why on earth was I panicking, and how the bloody hell did my clothing know it before me?) and carry on. Carry on what? Carry on... talking? Carry on... eating? For a supposedly calming message, it was very vague.  
"Hmm." I shugged, then proceeded to put them on.

* * *

Chell glanced from me to the couch, back to me, then to her room, all with the same expression. Me, being such a wizard at reading facial expressions, could tell you she was _unsure _about something. Yes. Very helpful.  
"Couldn't help noticing... you appear just a teensy bit indecisive about something. Can I help? Maybe... speed up the decisionmaking, or... um..." I paused, unable to think of anything else I could possibly do. Then again, if _She _was to be believed, and a nagging little bugger of a voice-in-my-head said _She _was, decisions never ended well when mixed with me.  
Chell frowned lightly, then said,  
"Where will you sleep?"  
THAT was the huge decision? Honestly, I thought better of Chell.  
"Oh, well... I could sleep on the couch, maybe?" I suggested, without pausing to think, really.  
Chell's expression was unreadable, but she nodded all the same and padded away to her room.  
"Goodnight, Wheatley!" She called over her shoulder, and smiled a little in my direction.  
"'Night, luv!" I called back, then paused, finally, staring at the couch. "Ummm..."

* * *

Chell's POV:

A few minutes later, I came out of my room carrying a pillow and sheet, embarassment making my pace quicken.  
"Sorry, forgot, you might need these-"  
Wheatley was lying across the whole length of the couch, and it brought to mind one of my favourite nerdy TV shows. Sheld- no- Wheatley's feet and head dangled off either end of the sofa, in a rather poor immitation of planking.  
After taking an amused, yet pity-filled glance at my newly-human friend (could I call him that, after only just a day? It almost seemed like he was there a lifetime.) and I folded the sheet up again.  
"If you want, you can have my bed, and I'll take the couch." The look in his eyes just showed gratitude as he stood up, stretched, then stood in front of me.  
"Thanks -ow- I think the couch is a liiiittle bit too small for me, anyway..." He said, dragging out the 'i' in little, while rubbing the back of his neck in pain, then he padded towards my room.  
"G'night, Chell!" He paused at the doorway, before walking in.  
"Goodnight, Wheatley!" I repeated, smirking a little. Unfolding the sheets, I lay down on the fabric sofa. Sleep came quickly, but then came the onslaught of nightmares, which left me writhing in agony, tearstained and tangled in sheets.

* * *

**I doubt you envy Chell and her nightmares... I tell you, if I was her, I'd spend the whole night watching funny videos on YouTube just to get to sleep... Oh, what's that, random-off-screen-person-to-my-right-posing-as-my-version-of-Steven? I do that anyway? Hmm.  
Still, I would need a glass of water after waking up from the nightmares she's having. (HINT! HINT! HINT! LOL...)**

**Oh..? You wanted cake? It's just over there... see if you can get to it without a Portal Devi-  
WHEATLEY! I said DON'T give them a Portal Device! Oh, he's useless. Enjoy the cake... It's made of pixels.  
Haha.. HAha! MwaHaHAHAHHAA!**

**Anyway, there'll be bigger gaps between uploads now, sorry about that, but I'm going to Germany with the Scouts, and I have to get ready. Oh, and I'm moving house. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yess! So many people are getting my references! :D Sorry if I didn't mention getting reviews in the last couple of chapters, I've just been uploading without really looking at what I was doing. Editing tires me. So, thanks to everyone who reviews this! I do little dances of joy every time I see one! :)**

**Booyah! Chapter 5! So far, I've quoted: TOBUSCUS!, BBC's Sherlock, and yes, Big Bang Theory! Just wait, there'll be more...**

* * *

Chell's POV:

I woke to the birds tweeting sweetly outside the window as sunlight streamed in, warming my face. I was too calm and at ease to open my eyes; I'd never had a night almost without nightmares.  
I do remember one dream which terrified me, and I know I'd woken up in a cold sweat. Still zombie-like from sleep, I'd brought a glass of water back to my room.  
Frowning a little, I rolled over away from the direct sunlight, leaving red patches in the darkness of my closed eyelids. There was something in the back of my mind bugging me. Something not quite right. What was it? Did I leave the kitchen light on? Was the front door unlocked?  
No. I'd woken up somewhere strange.  
I'd woken up on the couch.  
What was I doing on the-

My eyes flew open.  
There, inches from my face, was the red-haired, long limbed Wheatley.  
Making a noise somewhere from the 'Eep' family, I tried to scramble out of the bed. My hand was caught on something, though.  
With a sinking feeling, I followed my arm. Shoulder to elbow. Elbow to wrist. Wrist to...  
My fingers were entwined with Wheatley's.  
Violently tugging my hand away, I folded both over my chest. After my heartrate slowed considerably, I decided I might as well enjoy the silence while it lasted. I stared at the ceiling as my brain went into overdrive.  
My emotions and thoughts were warring chaotically.  
_No way. No way in hell. No. You've only just forgiven him! You can't just lie here side-by-side, all buddy-buddy!  
Why not? Friends have sleepovers.  
Yeah, when they're children!  
To his mind, he _is _a child!  
One day, he won't be, and you'll wish you'd listened.  
What are you even saying?!  
You know exactly what I mean. No one is a child forever.  
Wheatley's not like that.  
How do you know?  
Oh, you're making a mountain out of a molehill!  
No, _you're _making a molehill out of a mountain!  
_I clutched at my head in frustration, staring daggers at the ceiling. Which little voice to believe?

And all this time, a tiny, tiny part of my mind was repeating the fact that I'd had no nightmares once I'd got back to my bed.

* * *

Wheatley's POV**: (Earlier that night)**

_"This is the part where he kills us." PotatOS spoke, Her tinny voice crackling and wavering slightly. Her tone was of acceptance.  
Darn right, this was the part where I killed them! Chell and the Potato stuck on a platform, surrounded by mashy spike plates, and no portal surfaces. Only them, and me, and soon, just me.  
My plan was flawless.  
Except for the only flaw._

_I slammed my palm again and again against the glass floor of my cell. I was high above the scene below me, and it struck horror and disgust into my heart.  
"Use the white goo! Chell, Chell, use the moon-rock-paste! It's portalable!" I screamed, my voice raw from yelling the same thing to the deaf crowd below.  
Hoping and praying the nightmare would fail the way the actual death trap had, I had no choice but to keep pounding on the glass.  
As Evil Wheatley went to activate the trap, I immediately noticed something wasn't right. The orange portal that was used to cause the droplet of white goop to splash onto the platform which gave Chell her escape route did not come. She hadn't fired any portals.  
As the mass of mashy spike plates suddenly raced blindingly fast towards their unmoving target, I..._

Woke with a start. I blinked a few times, staring at the ceiling. The bland, blank ceiling of a dark room. It took my sleep-riddled processors- no, mind- a few moments to really take in where I was... and _ what _I was. As I gradually remembered bits of information- no longer in space, no longer a core, now human, et cetera- I sighed and tried to relax again.  
"Only a dream. Chell's still alive, and on her sofa right now. Calm down." I spoke aloud. As I spoke, something beside me stirred.  
"Wha-? It was Chell. Bleary-eyed and almost asleep, she couldn't quite focus on my face. What was she doing here?  
I panicked, and acting on impulse, I began shushing her.  
"Shhh, go back to sleep, luv. It's okay, it's only little ol' Wheatley. Shhh..." I watched, amazement plastered to my features as she actually closed her eyes and settled. I sighed in relief for the second time that night.  
Then, just as I began falling asleep myself, a hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed mine. Panic gripped me again.  
"Um, Chell, you appear to, uh, to have my hand. And... and since you already have two of your own, would you mind if I could have mine baAAH-"  
The fingers curled even tighter around mine.  
"Ah, W-well, that was kind of the opposi-"  
Chell clutched my hand firmly, though her eyes were still closed. I... I supposed it didn't feel all that bad, actually, it felt kind of nice. So gently, gently, I closed my fingers around hers.  
Chell suddenly mumbled something unintelligible.  
"Sorry, what was that?"  
"Never would've let go." Her voice was barely audible, but I heard it all the same.  
"I know, luv, I know." Even though I did also know she was sleeping, it made my heart beat a little faster than it should, knowing that she didn't mean to let me fall into space. Even after my behavior in the facility, even after I tried to kill her and PotatOS, she'd wanted to save me.  
I fell asleep while this pleasant thought warmed my heart.

* * *

Chell's POV:

I was still warring in my mind when Wheatley woke up. Immediately, a look of panic crossed his face, and I could see he thought I was angry.  
I was, but at myself. I still couldn't figure out what I was feeling, and that annoyed me. I was usually on top of my emotions, usually perfectly in control. Now, however, I found myself enjoying the very close company of someone who once tried to kill me. I couldn't possibly _like _him, not like the way my heart told me I did.  
Okay, he didn't look all that bad, and his constant ramblings never failed to bring a smile to my face, but I barely knew the guy!  
I'm definitely not a believer of the idea that there's someone out there for everyone, and that one person would be with you forever. It seems childish to believe such crap. People change, people move on. Couples break up. People who love you break your heart. People who love you send you away to boarding school. People who love you bring you to work one day, then fail to bring you home. People who love you volunteer you, their only child, for testing at age fifteen. Then you discover, not through the people who love you, but through random strangers, that you're adopted. That the people who loved you lied. Then you find out that the people who loved you died to try and save you, and you wish you could take all of your hatred and resentment back, wish you could say 'sorry', wish you could hug them one last time.  
Yes. Love had gotten me nowhere in life. Love had cursed me to be hurt, betrayed then condemned me to test in that place. I hated love.

It took me a second to realise that I was sobbing, and a worried-looking Wheatley was patting my shoulder awkwardly. His messy, ginger-blonde hair, coupled with the wide-eyed look and glasses slightly askew made my lips twitch upwards at the corners.  
Wiping at my eyes with the back of my hand, I sniffed then sat upright.  
"Um, are... are you alright? You were... you were, uh, leaking. I don't know, is that a... a normal human thing, and if so, what can I do to avoid it? Sorry, sorry, no, should I... should I call a mechanic? No, wait, what's the human equivalent..? Doctor! Should I find a doctor?"  
"No." My voice came out cracked and low, so I cleared my throat and tried again. "No. I'm fine, it's a human reaction to things that upset them. I was just thinking about... that place."  
Wheatley looked puzzled for just a second.  
"That... place... OH! Oh, right. Right. I get it. That _place._"  
I nodded, gazing at the sheets. The silence lasted for about four and a half seconds. Then, "How did you escape... that place? I mean, when I... when I was sucked into space, and _She_ closed the portal, what happened?"  
I'd anticipated and dreaded this question. Hadn't expected it so soon, though. I closed my eyes, and counted to five silently and very, very slowly.  
"Of course, if- if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to, I mean, it's your business, it's perfectly okay to- to not say anything, and- and- and- in fact, just- just ignore my question altogether, that's probably best-"  
"No, Wheatley. It's fine. It'll be good for me to talk about it." Or so I hoped. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly and opened my eyes. "When the portal closed, I fell unconscious. Or I fainted. I'm not sure which. Anyway, I woke up in _Her_ chamber, and _She _was back in her chassis. At first, I panicked, then _She _ said the strangest thing...

* * *

_'Oh, thank God you're alright.' I stood up slowly, until I realised I was standing inside the escape lift. Two small robots were standing before me. One was a squat, broad-shouldered thing with a round body and bright blue optic, the other a tall, oval-shaped bodied long-limbed robot with an orange optic. They quickly scurried away when She had stopped speaking. _What's going on? _I thought, sure something bad was about to happen. _ _GLaDOS began speaking again.  
"Y'know, being Caroline taught me a valuable lesson. I thought you were my greatest enemy, when all along you were my best friend."  
_Okay, _I thought. _She must've lost her mind.  
_"The surge of emotion that shot through me when I saved your life taught me an even more valuable lesson. Where Caroline lives in my brain." GLaDOS continued, and a wave of panic hit me as I figured out what was coming. Sometimes I hated being smart.  
A distant, overhead voice announced monotonusly as a high-pitched beep resounded out for two seconds. "Caroline deleted."  
"Goodbye, Caroline."  
_This is it. _I thought. _I don't even have a Portal gun.  
_But She just kept speaking. No 'Neurotoxin Back Online' messages, no 'Bombs Recalibrated', nothing.  
"Y'know, deleting Caroline just now taught me a valuable lesson. The best sollution to a problem is _usually _the easiest one. And I'll be honest; Killing you? Is hard.  
You know what my days _used_ to be like? I just tested. Nobody murdered me... or put me in a potato... or fed me to birds. I had a pretty good life. And then _you _showed up. You dangerous, mute, lunatic.  
So you know what? You win. Just... go." The escape lift began rising, and I felt hope surge through me. I heard a soft laugh as I disappeared up the elevator shaft.  
"It's been fun. Don't come back." Was this it? Was she just going to let me go like this?  
The first few flowers of doubt sprouted at the back of my mind. When the lift stopped and a door slid open, my worst fears had been realised. Four Turrets had their little lasers fixed on my stomach. Preparing for a belly-full of bullets, the Turrets surprised me and the lasers switched off. They stared singing. As I rose higher and higher in the lift, their soft voices followed me up. _

* * *

"Eventually, I reached the surface, and a rusty shed door greeted me. It swung open, and I was... free." I sighed, the memories still wonderfully, terrifyingly real. The wave of fear... the rush of joy... the gentle breeze... the Turrets' sweet voices. All of it swirled around me, like the disturbed dust of a forgotten, hidden away book finally reopened.  
Surprisingly, Wheatley was quiet throughout my whole recollection. He opened his mouth to speak, seemed to change his mind and closed it again. He repeated this for about a minute in a perfect impersonation of a goldfish. Finally, he regained his voice.  
"She... She just let you go? Simple as? No questions asked? Singing Turrets? Blue and Orange? Okay... just- just gimme a sec. Gimme a sec." His voice was awed, shocked and horrified all in one nice, neat little package. I sat there, sheets still wrapped around me as Wheatley tried to think. I could _see _his brain working furiously... there could've been smoke coming out of his ears and little clanking clockwork noises for all I knew, and it wouldn't have made me any more sure how hard he was thinking.  
"So." He said finally. "I... I suppose... I suppose... I... I'm still not... quite... sure-"  
"Wheatley," I interrupted him. "How did you get out of space, and how did you become human?" The change of subject startled him, as well, I supposed, as the magnitude of explaining both answers.  
"Well, I- see, that's the thing, really, I, uh, I really have... I have absolutely... not a clue." His voice was awkward, as though he didn't want to admit he didn't know. Before I could ask anything else, he sputtered on. "B-bu-but I do remember little tiny flashes and tidbits of memories. I remember... being in space with that crazy Space-Core, then suddenly falling, then pain, ahaha, a lot of pain, fire, some plants, all green. Then, lots of nothing and then more pain which was ten times worse than the other lot of- of pain. Then, I was falling again, but as a human! How crazy is that? Oh, and, almost forgot, a flash of yellow. While in the second stage of extreme pain, I saw a yellow light. Yeah, sorry, probably not important, just wanted to tell you everything, since friends tell each other everything, and... and... we- we _are _friends, r-right?" He became unsure as he finished, searching my face for an answer. Naturally, he couldn't tell what I was thinking, so I had to actually speak. Now I was doing the goldfish thing, except in my mind. _Were _we friends? I supposed, given the fact I somehow trusted him a little too fast than I normally did, we were... sort of? And then there was the times before Wheatley became Evil Wheatley. He was definitely my friend then. So... excluding the whole bad section of the relationship, yes. We were.  
I soon realised I still hadn't spoken, and Wheatley was looking quite worried now.  
"Yes, I think so." Finally, my voice worked. Wheatley let out a huge breath he appeared to be holding, and his trade-marked cheesy grin lit up his face.  
"Good! Good. I'm glad. Over the moon. Ecstatic. Elated. Overjo- Okay, okay- yeah, I see what everyone was talking about now, about the whole rambling thing. Completely understand."

* * *

**Phew, another chapter done! Sorry, I know this one's a little long.  
*Cough*[Insert Overused Joke Here About Previous Statement]*Cough* (Protecting the younger readers' innocence! :D )**

**Still, sorry.**

**Readers: Yeah, but a good chunk of the chapter was just dreams or memories, so it really doesn't cou-**

**Me: SHUT IT!  
TT3TT**

**Oh, and I changed the Story Picture! (Hand-drawn by me of Chell and Wheatley. Hey, that rhymed!)**


	6. Chapter 6

**[Error 404: 'Author's Note' not found. Imagination banks full. Delete 'Writer's Block' to create more space? Y/N]  
I don't own Portal or any of its characters. This disclaimer applies to every chapter. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Chell's POV:

Wheatley was holding a spoon in his right hand and staring at the bowl of cereal before him, concentration fixed on his features. His blue eyes were locked with the ceramic blue-and-white bowl filled with Cornflakes, his glasses resting on the tip of his nose. Pushing them upwards with one finger, he continued to stare.  
"It's easy, Wheatley." I demonstrated with my own spoon and cereal. "See? Just pick up some of the flakes with the spoon, and put them into your mouth. Remember to not bite the spoon, just use your teeth to pull the food off the metal."  
Slowly, slowly, he lowered his spoon into the bowl. He made a scooping motion as though he was serving frozen ice cream, then the spoon rose out, Cornflakes and milk in a little mound on it. Satisfaction glowed on his face as he put the cereal into his mouth.  
"Mmm! Yoo hoom'ns ur vury clvur!" He said, his words distorted by the food. I allowed a small smile to touch the side of my lips, then rose to my feet.

"I've got work today, so I'll be gone for a couple of hours. Here's the manual for the TV, I don't have time to explain how to work it. You can explore or whatever, just please be careful." I walked to the door and picked up my keys from the bowl beside the door.  
"I'm always careful." Wheatley smiled. "It's my middle name! Well, it- technically it's not, not sure what my middle name is, or if I- uh- actually have one, but... oh, you know what I mean!"  
"I sure do. Oh, if anything goes wrong, just call me. My number's programmed into the phone, just press the number one and the green button." I adjusted my ponytail in the mirror then opened the door. "Bye, Wheatley!"  
"Bye Chell." He called, a little sadly. Or, it was just not his usually cheerful tone.

As I drove into down, I felt confident my phone would be buzzing all day. I sighed tiredly, then found my usual parking spot and got out. The day was warm and sunny, the sky an almost-cloudless blue. The simple red-brick buildings of Mayville welcomed the cheerful summer's day, along with its residents. Although I didn't know everyone by name, a few people waved hello as I walked the rest of the way to work.  
The Coffee Mill wasn't crowded this morning, probably most of the usuals were out with their families and friends, enjoying the day. There were four or five customers sitting at tables, and each looked up as I walked in. A few smiled warmly, the others just nodded politely. Even if I didn't know the townspeople by name, they knew mine. I was the crazy rich girl living by herself by the lake. People often ask me why I chose to work at a cafe, when I could easily never work again, or do something bigger. I usually replied with a knowing smile and a tap to the side of my nose, or a simple, "Because I want to."  
As I went behind the counter to start my working day off, my mind drifted to the gossip that would spread if anyone saw Wheatley.  
_"Did you hear?"  
"Yeah, that crazy rich girl's been hanging around with a crazy tall guy!"  
"Not just that, I heard they were living together!"  
"As in, like, a couple?"  
"No one knows, but in my oppinion, yeah."  
"Ooh, wait til Mary hears about this!"  
_Being well known usually got on my nerves, but this was going to get interesting if anyone found out.

A flustered young woman entered the coffee shop and aproached the counter, her purse in her hand and a list clutched in the other. The secretary from the business centre across the road.  
I smiled.  
"Hello, the usual?"

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

After Chell left, I didn't really do much. Tried - and failed miserably - to get the telly working, put my bowl into the sink, knocked over a cup, though luckily it didn't break, and then managed to stub my toe. After the excruciating pain had ended, I decided to continue yesterday's unfinished explorations.  
The bathroom was more or less the same, though the rubber duck didn't seem as creepy now. Just a little unnerving. The bath/shower combo still sat beside the window, half of it obstructed by a pale blue shower curtain. It matched the general decor of the room, which was... well... blue.  
There was a strangely warm room which was tiny, about the size of two Storage Cubes stacked on top of eachother. It had a big red tank-y thing in the middle, wrapped in fluffy yellowness. A wooden shelf was attatched above that, with towels and clothes flung on top.  
Another small room, but this one had a light in it, and was almost crammed with random stuff. For example, a fake tree! A box full of unused lights, a scary-looking orange Safety Cube with a face carved into it, and a box-like thing with a hole in the middle and strings running over said hole up a long stick attatched to it. I ran my finger horizontally across the strings, and a pleasant tune rang out.  
Oh, humans.  
Chell's room was as I'd seen before; double bed with white sheets, a glass-topped table beside it, a wooden-framed window on the wall opposite the door, then double glass doors onto the deck-thing. There were funny, see-through net-like curtains in front of the doors, which stirred in the breeze of the almost always open door.  
At the end of the corridor outside the bathroom and bedroom and the two small rooms, was a blank wall. It did seem a little odd to me at first, but then again, why would you keep a fake tree in a room?  
I prodded the wall for a moment, but when nothing happened, I turned away and walked to the kitchen.  
The 'island' sat a Cube's distance from the sink, the fridge, and the big black box with a window in it. The cupboards were filled with an odd assortment of things, some held plates and bowls, others held food.  
A table sat in the middle of a big, open space, next to another set of double glass doors. The sofa and TV were a little bit away to the right, a fluffy black thing sitting on the floor, a small part of the square under the sofa.  
It was pretty spacious, especially when her old room in the Relaxation Centre was taken into account. The house was probably the size of two regular-sized testing chambers! Funny, it looked slightly bigger from the outside that first day.  
Finally, the exploration part of the day had ended. I glanced at the clock. I'd been exploring for two hours! No way. Impossible! Oh. Wait. When did Chell say she'd be home?

Up until now, I'd resisted the urge to call her, mostly out of fear of disturbing her... and I didn't want to break the phone. Now, I hovered uncertainly beside the kitchen, stealing glances at the phone sitting on a small table. What would I say?  
_Oh, hey Chell, just calling to tell you, that, em, I'm bored. Nothing of extreme emergency, no, just... just thought I'd let you know. Y'know. A quick update. Thought I'd give you a call, and tell you what I'm feeling. Actually, I... I probably should've rephrased that. Um... Actually, just forget I called, how about that? Yeah, that sounds good. Great plan. So... uh, good...bye?  
_It didn't take a genius to know that was a terrible idea, and since I'm not a genius, it took me all of two seconds. But then an amazing idea popped into my head, like a bubble of- of shiny... liquid... rainbow... stuff.  
What if I went to visit her at work? Great plan! Just one, eensy, tiny flaw. W-well, two. Two small problems.  
One, how would I get to her? Two, where does she work?  
There's that plan out the window.  
Maybe I could explore some more? Yeah, that's a much better idea!  
I supposed I didn't fully explore Chell's room, just glanced around. Could've missed something big there! I grinned broadly at my new plan as I made my way down the corridor to the second door on the left.

* * *

Chell's POV:

Remarkably, my phone was completely silent. I was folding up a towel, after being sentenced to washing up for forgetting Lilly's rule about no sugar in her coffee. She was the closest thing to a friend I had in this town, and happened to work next door. Of course, there were only five plates and a handful of cups, so it took me all of ten minutes to do.  
As I placed the towel down and got ready for my shift behind the register, my pocket buzzed.  
(Think 'Still Alive' on the little radio! LOL)  
I took a deep breath, then pulled out my phone. Yes, there it was on the screen. 'HOME calling'. I sighed, then pressed the phone to my ear.  
"Hello, Wheatley. What's-" I barely got a sentence out, when his voice streamed through like a wild river filled with rapids. Unstoppable, and a little bit alarming. His fear-stricken voice stammered;  
"Hi, Chell, uh, I- I found this big, ol' button just inside your wardrobe, and, and you know the way I'm a moron, and all? Yeah, well I pushed it. Big, hidden button, no idea what it does, and I pushed it. Yeah. I know. Well, when I did, the, uh, the back of your wardrobe... it broke open! Yeah! And, and, again, y'know how I'm a idiot? I went through the hole in the wall! Random doorway opens when I push an unknown button, and I go through it. Anyway, anyway, my point is... well, I'm not totally sure what my point is, but I just thought I'd call, since, well, the stuff in that room- because there was a room just through the hole- well, you'd know, right? I mean, it's your house. You'd hope you knew everything about it. But maybe not. But anyway, the stuff in that room... it's kind of scary, actually. There's a ton of stuff in there, stuff that makes me think you were... you were planning on- No, no. I'm... I'm an idiot, don't listen to little ol' Wheatley. Just pretend I didn't call. Bye!" The call ended.  
"What..?" My voice was barely a whisper as I pushed the hang-up button and slowly lowered the phone. It took me two heartbeats to think straight.  
He'd found it. And figured it out. _Shit!  
_I was over the counter and racing through the door before anyone could stop me.

* * *

**So..? Can you guess what's in the hidden room? ;D  
Don't worry, it'd never stab you. Oh, no, that's not all that's in there. You'll just have to wait and see!**


	7. Chapter 7

**So... I've finally caught up with myself! I'm writing this a few hours after posting Ch 6.  
Posting chapters will take MUCH much longer now, most likely the smallest gap being every two days, as long as there's an interesting part of the story going on. Thanks for all the faves!**

* * *

Chell's POV:

"Wheatley?" I cried, shoving the front door open. My heart pounded loudly in my chest. All I could think was _He'd found it, he'd understood, he'd found it, he'd figured it out.  
_I barely made it down the hall when his ginger/blonde head popped out from around the door to my room. His face was a mask of horror. He took two steps in my direction, only a meter from me.  
"You... you weren't really thinking of... of going _back_, were you?" His eyes searched mine frantically for a 'no.' When all they found was silence, he began speaking again, but I cut him off, my voice barely over a whisper.  
"Not... not at first, but..." It was all I could manage to say, before I dropped my gaze to the floor.  
"No..." His eyebrows bent upwards in an almost comical impression of cartoon sadness as his face distorted in pain.  
"After- after all we went through... after all _you_ went through... you want to go _back_?!"  
His voice rose in horrified anger, while I continued to stare at the floor like a scolded child.  
"You really are insane. BACK? To that horror-filled death-pit of- of- doom? Back to _her,_ that monster? Remember? She tried to kill you many times, or have you forgotten? Back, to the cute, little Turrets who will shoot you on the spot? To Neurotoxin, to Repulsion gel? To cubes and fire and lasers and bottomless pits?

"Seriously? You'll get yourself killed! And then what? I'll be left here, on my own, stuck here as a smelly human. If _she _ doesn't come after me first. Then, if _she _kills me, that'll be two innocent people, POOF! because you want to go _BACK._ Selfish, that's what that is! Selfish!

"And how do you think I would feel? Huh? Did you consider that? I'm human now, so there's no 'Endless Sleep-mode' button anymore, no deactivation switch. And I don't see many mashy-spike-plate coveyer belts around, or Samurai swords.

"Oh, don't you look at me like that! How did you think I'd survive without you?! I'm not just talking about showing me how to use a bloody knife and fork, I'm talking real, emotional damage, here! I'd be leaking for all of forever, and... and... and I think I may be leaking now..." Tears had started streaming down his cheeks.  
I was lost for words, so I just watched as the droplets of liquid ran down past his chin, and dripped silently onto the floor.  
Finally, I closed the gap and collapsed into Wheatley's surprisingly strong arms. I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my head in his chest as I hugged him as tightly as I could. He let out a soft 'Oof' on collision, but after a moment, he rested his chin on the top of my head.

We stayed like that for a while, the small tearstain on Wheatley's shirt gradually growing, then stopping altogether.  
I regained my voice.  
"I'm sorry. I'm... I'm so sorry. I didn't know you'd be here. It's just... It felt like I didn't fit in with the normal people in the town. You know, the happy, sane people not plagued by nightmares of a murderous AI.  
I wanted to go back because I didn't belong. I wanted to go back because I had nothing worth staying for. I had nothing but a house. No meaning. Like a machine without a primary function." My fist closed around the soft fabric of his shirt. I needed something to hold on to.  
"Do you still want to go?" His voice was a gentle rumble against my eardrum. I didn't have to think about the answer for long.  
"No." I said simply, turning my face upwards until I could look Wheatley in the eye.  
"Good."

Now, if this were some cheesey novel or terrible chick flick, you'd think you'd know what would've come next.  
But Wheatley's no Romeo, and I'm definitely no Juliet.  
He just stayed like that, even though my heart started pounding like some lovesick teenage girl. I quickly clamped down on that particular emotion, and violently shoved it to the smallest corner of my mind.  
We stood apart a little awkwardly, or rather, it was awkward for me, while Wheatley just grinned a smaller version of his world-famous show-stopper. (Achoo! Sorry, I'm allergic to alliteration. Achoo!)

What I'd said was true: I'd wanted to go because I'd had no meaning. But now, I had to take care of this robot-turned-human grinning before me.

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

I had surprised even myself with my little speech; I'd had no idea I cared so much for the well-being of this human. Granted, she did try to help me escape that place, and she had forgiven me, but that's beside the point. She'd suddenly seemed so much more important when I knew she would've been blown to bits if I'd said nothing.  
It had been differet as a Core: She had mostly been an escape-route on legs at first. Now? It was almost as if my heart had tried to break its way out through my chest.  
I also didn't feel guilty for shouting at her like I did. Usually, guilt was like anger's shadow for me. Being angry just then felt right, like I was supposed to be angry.

Something told me to say absolutely nothing to Chell about what emotional turmoil I just went through. Ooh, that was a complicated sentence... maybe Machiavelli wasn't such a bad read after all. Though the title was all wrong when I read it. I'm pretty sure the first letter wasn't supposed to be an exclamation mark, and the last a strange-looking 'W'  
(Turn your head upside down while looking at 'Machiavelli'...)

* * *

Chell's POV:

It was a sunny Saturday morning in late July, about three weeks after the confrontaion. I was sipping my first coffee of the day on the deck, overlooking the lake, when Wheatley came out of our room, straightening his tie.  
After much persuasion from Wheatley, who won because of his 'lack of nightmares' point, it had indeed become 'our room'. With obvious ground-rules.  
He walked out onto the deck, his shoes making soft clunking noises on the wood. He was wearing his now-signature outfit; the white shirt under black waistcoat, with the blue Converse and tie combo. Grinning broadly, he made his way over, where, just as it looked like he was going to speak, it faded slightly. My interest rose at this, since what he must be about to say would be important.  
"Hey, Chell, um... do you want to, uh... go get some ice-cream? W-with me?" His eyes sparkled hopefully, like a puppy shown a lead and collar, and told to wait near the door.  
I blinked once. And again. Caught off-guard, I said the first thing that came into my head.  
"Oh! S-sure?" My answer sounded more like a question, and I mentally kicked myself for reacting like that.  
"Good, good!" He all-but-cried. "So, uh... what- what's ice cream?"

* * *

**Sorry, I know this chapter's a little short, but... ahh. Also, if you wanted to know what's in the room, you'll have to keep waiting. I never exactly said I would tell you in this chapter, did I?  
-Evil Grin-  
Oh, Wheatley! Just like him to suggest having ice cream, but not knowing what it was. Oh, minor question here:**

**What flavours of said frozen treat should Wheatley and Chell get? Post your answer below. :) **

**I won't be posting for the next four or five days, I'm going to Germany! Sorry.**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT! By the way, loads of interesting stuff very, very soon. Possibly some in this very chapter! Y'never know! Also, so... many... flavours... AAHH!  
I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not quite sure...  
I'll try and use as many as I can, but please don't hate me if yours isn't eaten. :(**

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

The 'car' was very pretty. _Very _pretty. Now, I'm usually not the best at telling whether things are nice to look at, believe it or not, (take the Frankenturrets, as Chell reminded me) but this very vehicle actually made me say 'wow' involuntarily the first time I saw it.  
It was slim, streamline and silver. Triple alliteration! Anyway, it had a simple black vertical stripe just behind both doors, and a strange symbol on the front, like four rings connected in a row. Aparently, that symbol combined with little signs on the back which read 'R8' and 'V10' meant it was not only very pretty, but very expensive.

Chell, who had her hair up in her usual ponytail, and casual shorts and t-shirt, was a real competitor for the car, though. Even taking into account I was a machine myself barely a month ago, Chell seemed to be winning.  
Nope, not gonna think like that. It was almost as if thinking of Chell as 'pretty' made me too happy; a happiness I just knew either couldn't be real, or wouldn't last with my luck. Besides, there's probably something offensive I might say if I compared her to the car.  
Wow, a good idea! Maybe I wasn't such a moron after all.

It took me all of three and a half minutes to realise I was actually staring at Chell. My head was spinning, and I couldn't think straight with all this constant, loud drumming of my stupid human heart.  
"Wheatley, are... are you okay?" Chell asked, her face full of concern as I shook my head slowly, then gripped at it to try and steady myself.  
"Yeah, I'm fine, luv. Just... just a little dizzy, is all. There, gone. I'm fine." I grinned broadly, but I could tell she didn't believe me.

Although the car was pleasant on the outside, I found myself quickly disliking the inside. There were too many buttons, and it was very small. I had to be strapped to the chair I was sitting on, and to make matters worse, Chell turned in her seat to face me, looking completely, deadly serious.  
"Now, I've got to turn the engine on. When I do, it'll make a loud noise, and I don't want you to panic. Okay? It's normal, and nothing will go wrong." She waited for my response.  
"Oh, o-okay, that should be absolutely fine, fine. Nothing wrong with the loud noise. Gotcha. Perfectly normal. Good, good. Uh, just wondering, but exactly how loud are we talking abAAAAAAAAAHHHH! Ok-okay, that was a little bit louder than I was originally anticipating, so just, uh, bear with me while my heart slows down a little. Good, back to normal. Or, well, not normal, just not beating so loudly as to make me think it would try and escape my very chest. Still, all good... in the hood... hah! As in... the hood... of the car- actually, bad joke, ignore that. Ahem!" I tried (rather convincingly, in my opinion) to clear my throat. When Chell just rolled her eyes and looked away, I figured I was in the clear.

* * *

Chell's POV:

"Okay, so... what now?" Wheatley turned to face me as we sat in the car. He seemed pretty oblivious to the fact we were actually moving. I wanted to laugh so bad, but a part of me told me to wait and see what would happen when he figured it out.  
"Nothing." I tried desperately to keep a straight face as he stared at all the buttons and colours in the car. "Just... nothing!" I had been about to say 'wait until we arrive' but then he might've had the idea to look out the window.  
"Okay. Although I do feel a little odd. As though I was zooming along my management rail. Oh, God, don't tell me there's a human management rail?!" He froze, right index finger inches from the 'on' button of the radio. He didn't bother looking up, but I could see the look of horror on his face.  
"Well, no. Not really." _Come on, figure it out.  
_"Oh, okay then. Must just have sea-sickness or something. We're not-"  
"No. We're not on the sea."  
"So... motion-sickness? But for motion-sickness, we'd need to be mov-" He looked up, and his eyes widened gradually, until his eyebrows were barely visible and I could see white all around his eyes. "Oh.. oh. We're... moving _inside_ of a machine? So it _is _like a human management rail! Oh please _please_ tell me you have control over this thing!" He suddenly gripped at the ceiling and the edge of his seat, staring out of the windscreen.  
"Yes, it's fine." I was grinning internally, because in his moment of panic, he'd forgotten that he'd pressed the radio 'on' button. Since it was possibly the slowest radio on the planet, it still hadn't started up, but soon enough, Wheatley was going to get another surprise. Part of me felt kind of cruel, laughing at his alarm like this, but hey. He doesn't seem to mind.

"Oh, cool, so that's a radio!" Wheatley cried happily as the first song finally started. I was surprised, but glad all the same that the music seemed to make his usually happy outlook on life shine brighter.  
The song was old. Not ancient, but still. It also happened to be my favourite song. A smile sprouted on my face, then grew and grew with every beat.

_I gotta feelin'  
That tonight's gonna be a good night,  
That tonight's gonna be a good night,  
That tonight's gonna be a good good night!_

The cheesy grin on Wheatley's face just made my own grow more. Eventually, I started siging along. Even Wheatley started singing the bits he knew from the repeats.  
Laughing and singing, we drove into the quiet town.

* * *

We stood in front of the ice cream display case as the girl behind the counter waited for our choices. Wheatley was gazing open-mouthed at the rows and rows of strange flavours. There was vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, chocolate chip, lemon, caramel, chocolate brownie, mint choc chip, pistachio, hazelnut, bubblegum-blue, cherry, mint, cookie dough, sherbert and even a strange multicoloured one called 'Harry Potter'. Luckily, a little sticker on the glass said 'Ask for a free sample!', because I doubted Wheatley would ever decide otherwise. Personally, I was leaning towards my usual, mint choc chip. (It was a childhood favourite of mine!)  
When it became clear that Wheatley was not going to talk for once, I spoke up.  
"Wheatley? You have to choose a flavour." He looked up at the sound of his name, but his gaze was soon drawn back to the many flavours.  
The young woman behind the counter flashed me an unexpectedly fierce look.  
"Give him a moment to decide." Then she turned to Wheatley, smiling as innocently sweet as she could. "Would you like a free sample?"  
"Hmmm..?" He was still entranced by the ice cream, and barely took any notice of the girl.  
"She wants to know would you like to try some of the flavours." I surprised myself with the cold tone in my voice.  
"Yeah, that's what I meant." The girl smirked.  
"Oh, yes please!" Wheatley shot her a miniature grin, and I found myself feeling a little jealous.  
"Which would you like?" The girl looked overjoyed as she picked up a small cardboard cup and a spoon, then arranged them so that she could put a flavour into it.  
"I'll go for... blue, please!"  
"Sure thing." She handed him the cup with the bubblegum flavoured ice cream inside, and he sampled a bit.  
"Mmm. That's... c-c-c-cold!" I bit back a smile, despite my current mood.  
"Ice cream. It's supposed to be cold!"  
"Yeah, but... wow, quite nice." When he finished, (after his mouth had recovered) he asked to sample the vanilla. He found that one pleasant too. After trying almost everything, (Harry Potter, sherbert, cookie dough, mint, cherry, caramel, lemon and strawberry) he finally tried chocolate.  
And I think he found the one he wanted. From the sheer lack of speech, I knew he liked it. Every other flavour he'd commented on how delicious it was. With chocolate, you could just read his face. My chocolate stashes at home were now in danger.  
"I'll have mint chocolate chip." I grunted at the girl, who was now staring at Wheatley as he licked away the drips on the cone. After clearing my throat, she grabbed the ice cream scoop and shovelled some into a cone, then thrust it at me.  
"Here. Enjoy your date." She all at once spat at me, and practically sang to Wheatley, who was still painfully oblivious to the clash.  
"What?" The word caught me off guard.  
"You're on a date, right?" Hope seemed to flare in the girl's eyes.  
"No!" I answered a little too quickly, and too late did I notice her gaze on Wheatley intensify. I panicked suddenly as she opened her mouth to speak. Pulling my purse out, I threw the money onto the counter, then spun around and stormed off, grabbing Wheatley's arm on the way.  
"Whaaa..?" He cried, eyes wide as I dragged him away from that... that...  
No! I... what did I just do? I was so rude to that girl... and all she did was look at Wheatley. I let go of his arm and only then realised I was still gripping my cone.  
What was going on? It took all my mental power to build a nice, solid barrier over the events that just occured. I forced a smile, then turned around to face a confused and scared-looking Wheatley.  
"Sorry, there was a line of people behind us. I don't like queues. Anyway, wanna go sit down?"  
"Sure! I tell you, this chocolate flavour is amazing! It's so... chocolatey and sweet, and... cold, very cold, yes, but so tasty! You've no idea! Well, you probably do, since you've been human quite a bit longer than me. But still! Oh, it's delicious! Oh, look, there's a bench over there, in that park-y thing. Anyway, as I was saying..." I let my mind relax as his voice rambled on. We sat down on the bench, eating ice cream, while Wheatley's voice acted like a river and washed away my troubles. Then he managed to catch me off guard.  
"By the way, what's a date? I mean, I know it can mean the, um, date of the year, and that strange fruit, but neither really made sense in the context of yours and that girl's conversation." Firstly: WOW. Did he really use polysylables in his sentence? Humanity must be improving his inteligence.  
Secondly: He heard our coversation. Ah.  
"Well, a date is like... it's when two people who really like each other go out somewhere and hang out with together."  
"Oh, so... we're on a date, then?"  
"NO, nononononono!" I cried.  
"What? Wait, what?" He was both at once confused and worried again.  
"No." I tried, a little calmer. "No, we're not on a date."  
"Oh. Okay. But... why not?" Oh, boy. "We're hanging out together, we like each other. How is that not a date, unless..." His face fell. "You don't like me."  
"No! No, Wheatley, I do like you, I like you a lot! Maybe a little too much for my own good, but you're my best friend!" I searched his eyes for signs that he heard me.  
"Then, please explain to me, very slowly; how is this _not_ a date, if we like each other and are hanging out together?"  
I took a deep breath. Time to explain relationships. This was going to take a while.  
"Because we're only friends. What I meant by people who like each other a lot is a couple. As in a boy and a girl, -or a boy and a boy, or girl and a girl- who like each other more that just as friends. Sometimes they can be in love with one another."  
"But... how do you know if you like someone a lot? As in, more than friends?" Wheatley was frowning everso slightly, with his head tilted to the side, like a confused puppy.  
"Well, sometimes if you like someone a lot, you'll think about them a good bit of the time. You'll notice how pretty or handsome they are, your heart will beat slightly faster when you're around them, and you'll want to spend more time with them. You'll want to protect them, keep them safe. Somewhere along the way, it can turn into love, where you want to spend the rest of your life with that person."  
"Huh." That was all he had to contribute? Oh well.  
"It's getting late, we need to go home." Silently, we left the park and returned to the car, driving in silence until we got home. Wheatley remained mostly quiet as we ate dinner, then only made a few comments as we watched TV.  
When he returned from the bathroom with his pyjamas on, all he said was goodnight, then lay down in the bed and rolled over, facing away from me. At first, I worried if he was sick, or if he was angry for some reason. Eventually, just put it down to the fact that he always needs time to process new information. Finally, sleep overcame me.

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

I lay awake, staring at the ceiling as Chell slept quietly beside me. After she explained what love was in the park earlier, I think discovered something pretty darn massive.  
I think I'm in love with Chell.

* * *

**Well, told you some massive stuff was coming! Anyway, this is a long chapter to make up for the fact that:**

**A) I haven't posted in a while, and  
B) I won't be able to post for a while!**

**School is starting up again on Wednesday, and as I said earlier, I'm moving house. I'm in my Junior Cert year in school, so for now, that takes priority.  
Don't worry, I'll still post when I can, but don't be surprised if Halloween rolls around and I'm only just posting chapter fifteen. XD Okay, obviously won't be that bad, but... you never know!  
And please, do keep reviewing! If I could hug each and every one of you through the internet, I would. :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**I checked the story today- first, saw the number of reviews had grown massively, and started grinning crazily, causing my family to concernedly back away slowly. :D  
Then, I actually clicked on that '24', and made the cutest little 'Eek!' noise I've ever heard! So many lovely people!  
I actually did a little dance! I wasn't going to post a chapter today, since I started school today, but you guys motivated me to speed-write! Even if I have to sleep while writing, I'll do it. :D**

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

It took my brain about ten more days to fully grasp what my little discovery meant.  
I still didn't fully realise the gravity of the situation, until I decided to tell Chell what I felt. I made another discovery. Words fail me when I become nervous, and nothing is more nerve-racking than admitting your love.  
It wasn't until I had called Chell over to my spot sitting on the deck, when a bloody huge problem occured to me. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if she still held a grudge after the whole Aperture-thing? What if...?  
A huge list of 'what ifs' streamed through my mind with every step she took closer.  
One more step, aaaand:  
"Hey, what's up?" Chell greeted me cheerfully, brushing a loose strand of hair off her face. I had the strangest impulse to tuck the loose bit behind her ear, but figured out it might seem a little odd, so I improvised. My raised hand opened a little and I waved. Phew.  
"Hi!" My voice seemed a little too high-pitched in my ears, and I was again distracted by my thudding heart. She looked at me expectantly, and it took me a few seconds to realise why. This was it. Time to tell her how I felt. Time to tell Chell that I love her. Time to...  
"Oh! Right. Um... do you wanna go out today? Like... uh... I don't know, the... uh... other side of the lake? Like, with food and all?" I pointed in the general direction of the other side of the lake. Wonderful. I'd completely lost my nerve. Maybe I could tell her how I felt there?  
Chell raised one eyebrow.  
"So, a picnic?" Her voice was odd, and I couldn't quite pin down the emotion on her face.  
"Is... is that what that's called? Okay, yeah. Wanna go on... a picnic? Is that the right use of the word, or-"  
"It is, yes, but I can't. I'm sorry, I have work today! Maybe at the weekend?" That strange voice again. Mostly just normal, with a twinge of suspicion and happiness. Then again, I would be worried too, of someone who once tried to murder me in cold blood asked me to go to a secluded place alone. With food.  
_But... it wasn't me_! I wanted to yell. _It wasn't me, it was that stupid body! We would've escaped much sooner, and we would've been best friends with no bumps or issues! I can prove it, too. You told me this Caroline tried to help you, even saved you. She was GLaDOS when she was in the chassis, as in the murdering, psychopathic A.I? But she was Caroline outside of it. I thought you were the genius in this friendship!  
_**(Silly Wheatley, not everything is as simple as it seems!)**

* * *

Chell's POV:

Traces of worry, hurt and anger flashed across Wheatley's face. Part of me wanted to ask what was wrong, wanted to promise to ditch work, just for today, just this once. As normal, that particular emotion took my mental mashy-spike-plate to the face. It was bad enough that Wheatley liked me.  
Him, being the open book that he was, was exhibiting all the signs of a lovesick puppy. I caught him staring at me more than once, I noted the gentle flutter of his t-shirt moving to his heartbeat increase around me, and now he was asking me on a picnic. By the lake.  
That part of me, now squashed to the back of my mind, begged to give in. Let Wheatley be the exception to my rules of love. To my utter annoyance, it seemed to brush off the effects of the mental attack and bounced back, full of life. Before I knew what I was doing, a huge grin spread across my face.  
"I'll skip work, but only today. Never again. Alright?"  
Wheatley positively beamed, and that stupid little emotion was getting harder to fight against.  
"That's fine! Okay, so... what do we need, on this, er, picnic?"  
I sighed, my logical side still raging war against the not-so-small feeling.  
"We'll need... food, like sandwiches, biscuits, cakes and such. Drinks, like tea or juice, or cola et cetera, a basket to put said items into... and a blanket to sit on, if the grass is damp. Okay?" I recited everything we might need, counting them off with my fingers as I did.  
"Good, good. I'll organise everything. You just... uh... sit there and talk to me while I do all that. Okay?" Wheatley nodded, business-like, then ran off to start preparing. I just sat there slightly amazed that he'd volunteered to do all the work. I decided to make my way inside so I could monitor the preparations, as in stop any fires that may spring up.

Wheatley was strangely secretive about the whole thing, turning away to put things into the basket and not answering direct questions. When he was finished, the basket was closed with a flourish, and he spun around to face me, his trademarked grin shining on his face.  
"Right... allons-y!" He cried, picking up the basket and rushing over to the back door onto the deck. Since when did Wheatley learn French? Completely amazed, I just followed him.  
It was quite a big lake. Small, in geographical terms, but big enough that it took us about fifteen minutes to walk around to the other side. On the way, Wheatley was uncharacteristically silent. He just walked, grinning happily.  
Finally, Wheatley seemed to choose a site and plonked himself down. Almost literally.  
"Ow..." He mumbled, wincing a little. "I think I sat on a rock... yep. More like a bloody boulder!" He placed the basket down and opened the lid to pull out the blanket. After clearing the 'boulder' away, (it was basically a pebble...) he laid down the blanket. It was a simple red one, worn slightly from age. I'd gotten it in a charity shop, because it had looked familiar. It had to be about as old as me, though. Maybe I'd had one as a child.  
I was too focused on my thoughts to realise Wheatley had set up the food. I sat down, and gazed at it all in amazement. There were ham and cheese sandwiches, cut into perfect halves, a packet of chocolate biscuits arranged neatly on a plate, bread rolls with a selection of either strawberry jam or butter, and two bottles of Coke, condensation causing droplets of water to form on the glass.  
"Wow... this is amazing, Wheatley! Thank you!" I leaned over the food, intending to just hug him briefly, but ended up wrapped in his arms for about five seconds. I was _this close_ from staying there longer, but I fought back. My logical side won this particular battle. I pulled away, and Wheatley seemed to deflate just a little, until I smiled at him again, and he returned to normal. I could've sworn he looked a little distracted, and if I was some blushing girl with a flowing summer dress in a soppy novel, I would've thought he was about to propose, or something equally as life-changing. Most likely, he'd ask something completely trivial, then talk some nonsense for a while, before finally jumping to the item of importance in his mind. Cue start of the process... now.  
"So.. uh, I guess you like sandwiches, then!" He beamed, that distracted look painfully obvious on his face. I let him continue as normal. Otherwise, I'd have a panicked Wheatley on my hands, and that's never fun.  
"Yeah, they tend to be tasty. Sometimes you get the odd unpleasant one, but mostly sandwiches are good." I nodded, barely containing my laughter. He was just _too _easy to predict! I picked up a half-sandwich and took a bite. Huh. At least I taught him well in the art of food-making.

* * *

Wheatley's POV:

I watched anxiously as Chell ate the sandwich. This was it. I had to tell her. I _had _to!  
I swallowed involuntarily, then cleared my throat. Chell's interest peaked immediately. The sandwich drooped, forgotten in her hands as she waited to see what I had to say.  
Now that I had no option but to tell her, my heart pounded so loudly I'm sure good ol' Space would've been able to hear it. This was it. Now or never. Though, never was looking pretty damn good at this point.  
"Ah... Chell?" That was wonderful, Wheatley. Bravo! I'm sure the bloody massive crowd around you know you're addressing only Chell, now. Again, congrats.  
"Hmm?"  
"Ummm... I-I-I- uh, remember two weeks ago, when you, er, explained what love was?"  
"Yes..." Chell's voice changed slightly. What was that?  
"W-well... I-I-I- seem to be, um, ex-exhibiting all the, uh, signs that-that- you mentioned, which, er, means that I-" I coughed nervously. Chell's face was unreadable. My heart was racing now, and I felt like I was gonna pass out, and then I spoke. "That I, er, lo...ve y-you? Er... am _in_ l-love with... you?" I grinned weakly, and then the red blanket came up to meet my face, and everything stopped.

* * *

Wheatley's Disoriented POV:

Sound was dulled, almost as though I was underwater. The tiniest fraction of light cracked through my eyelids. The feeling of being carried and/or dragged was undeniable. Sounds of worry, panic and general unrest reached my ears.

Then, suddenly, my eyes were open, and I was halfway between the flat and the picnic spot, laying down on the grass. Chell was leaning over me, concern etched across her face. I smiled blearily up at her.  
"I'm fine." I mumbled. She chewed the inside of her cheek, a habit I'd noticed she used whenever she was particularly stressed. Why was she so worried? I'd only fainted. Well. Only fainted was a _bit_ of an underreaction. It was probably the world's worst faint, combined with the lack of sleep. So basically, a mega-faint. In fact, 'faint' is too gentle a word. I blacked out. Or, at least, that'll be what everyone hears.  
Chell didn't talk, but she was obviously raging the largest war her brain had ever seen. Her eyebrows were drawn down and she was chewing on her cheek. I hoped she was okay.

* * *

Chell's POV:

I scrunched one hand into a tight fist and turned away, spitting swears under my breath. My emotions were on the last battlefield. This was the last stand. The turning point. The milestone. Which side would win?  
I took a deep breath as the victor was decided. I turned back to the worried-looking, bleary-eyed, gangly-limbed man and leaned over to him again.

This time, I took all of us by surprise and pressed my lips to his. After the initial moment of panic that surged through Wheatley, he eventually realised what I was doing and kissed me back. Where he'd learned to kiss was beyond me, seeing as how he was a human for around two months or so.  
After a moment or two, we broke apart. Wheatley looked on the verge of fainting again, and I felt a little odd myself.  
"So, uh, is that the, er, normal human way of replying to someone when they admit their l-love for you?" He chuckled weakly. I smiled vaguely, then replied with a shake of my head.  
"It's not really the normal method, no, but it is accepted."  
"I know I accept it, anyway. Ah, ahaha, that... may have sounded a tiiiny bit creepy. Apologies. Sorry again."  
"It's fine. Though, there is usually another thing I need to say, in reply to your admission of love."  
"Wh-what?"  
"Yeah. It's needed to... kind of make the feeling mutual?"  
"Oh. Okay? And that is?"  
"Wheatley, I love you too."  
"That... that I also accept as a reasonable response to it as well. Not _quite_ as preferrable as the, er, first method, but still. It's always good to share your feelings, and all that." He grinned, and if I thought his trademarked grin was bright, it had _nothing_ on this one.  
"Oh! I almost forgot!" He cried, and tried to leap to his feet, but instead managing to unbalance himself even more and wobble precariously before falling to the ground again.  
"Ow. No, that wasn't it. Wait here, two seconds! Promise!" He scrambled off back towards the picnic spot, where I'd neglected to bring the items with me when trying to drag Wheatley back home. Off in the distance, I saw him gather the blanket and food, and shove it all into the basket, then dig through his newly created pile of mush and pull out something I couldn't quite see from where I was crouching on the ground.  
"Aha!" His voice echoed around the edge of the lake, and I seriously had to fight back a sudden case of the giggles. Me, Chell, killer of Turrets, destroyer of AIs, solver of tests, cheater of death... giggle? Then again, I _did_ just fall in love with Wheatley, so I suppose anything was possible.  
He reached me again, laiden with bundles, and panting heavily. His hand extended, and I saw a cupcake with unpleasant-looking grey icing on top. But, painted on very delicately, was a tiny pink heart in the centre. It looked almost like a Companion Cube...  
And then it hit me.

Even if he hadn't been able to talk to me, even if he'd just given me the cupcake, my reaction would've been the same. With this one tiny, little pink icing-heart, he was saying that he wanted to stay with me forever, and keep me company for the rest of my life, providing unconditional love and support. Just like the original, half-scorched thing I got from Aperture, he'd never threaten to stab me, and I should never take his advice.  
Actually, scratch that last one.

* * *

**Awwww! Y'know, I think this turned out pretty well as a last chapter. Hope you enjoyed the series, and...  
HAHA! Just kidding! I have many more chapters planned. You won't get rid of me that easily! But now, the gaps really will get bigger. I apologise in advance, and hope this was at least long enough to tide you over until next chapter (Probably later next week :( )  
Oh, and 'Allons-y' is French for 'Let's go', and is also known as Ten's trademark phrase. STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT WHILE, Cuz it's gonna start getting interesting.**


End file.
